As Melinda got more involved in foundation work, she realized that in order to represent the voices of women worldwide, she had to use her own voice.
“I can bring a perspective that’s different than Bill’s. I can bring these voices forward, and so I started to speak more publicly,” Gates said.
Driven by ideals surrounding equality, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation works hard to assist people worldwide to lead “healthy, productive lives,” from fighting extreme poverty and stamping out hunger in developing countries, to providing education opportunities in places such as the U.S.
In fact, the foundation recently teamed up with the MiSK Foundation to offer $10 million to innovators to fund ideas that would tackle global issues such as eradicating poverty. From Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s inception in 2000 through to the end of 2016, it has made over $41 billion in total grant payments.
One area that the philanthropist had not intended on getting involved in was talking about contraceptives. Today, however, Melinda has become a vocal advocate for the access to contraception, a topic that continues to face opposition from people around the world.
